Holders, clips or caddies are known in the art for elevating a paint brush over a paint can when the brush is not in use. Many of the known devices suffer the disadvantage of not holding the brush over the open paint can itself, leading to messy paint dripping around the can. Devices which hold the paint brush over the open can, while known, are often overly complex or cumbersome or can damage the bristles of the paint brush.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,206, issued May 24, 1977 to Rubin shows a paint brush holder adapted to hold the brush at an angle over the open paint can. However, the brush itself is held in place by means of a hook on a yoke which extends beyond the can's perimeter, taking up considerable space. Also, the means for clipping the yoke to the paint can is somewhat cumbersome, requiring the attachment of an elastic around wire members and the can itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,729,158, issued Apr. 24, 1973, to Nagy shows another paint brush holder which uses a magnetic attachment to the paint brush in order to hold the brush in place above the paint can.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,182,943, issued May 11, 1965 to Crossman illustrates a paint brush holder which uses a manual and somewhat cumbersome clamp to hold the device onto the paint can and spring clips to grasp the handle of the brush over the paint can.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,413, issued Apr. 6, 1976 to Gorrell et al includes an inclined support above the paint can on which the paint brush may be laid when not in use. A device such as this can damage the paint brush bristles since the brush is mainly supported by the bristles when not in use. The device also becomes covered with paint requiring clean up after use.
There is a need for a simple, compact and inexpensive paint brush holder which clips onto the rim of an open paint can and which holds the paint brush, when not in use, by its handle such that the brush end is generally horizontally suspended over the open can to catch any paint drips.